Infectious Disease Plan

Infectious Disease Emergency Response (IDER) Plan

Infectious disease emergencies are circumstances caused by biological agents, including organisms such as bacteria, viruses or toxins with the potential for significant illness or death in the population. The Infectious Disease Emergencies Response (IDER) Plan may be used in situations that include naturally occurring outbreaks (e.g., measles, mumps, meningococcal disease), emerging infectious diseases (e.g., SARS, pandemic influenza), and bioterrorism.

Toolkit for Health Departments

San Francisco’s IDER Plan was identified as a national promising practice. To help other health departments prepare, the Plan was transformed into an easy to use Toolkit which includes a user’s guide, template, and training and exercise materials.

IDER Core Plan. The Core Plan provides guidance to all components of the response and is divided into modules, or chapters, that are based on the organizational chart. The use of modules provides responders with the information they need in short segments (they do not need to read the entire plan to begin implementation); allows for flexibility in response by allowing only required components to be activated without disrupting the flow of the plan; and, provides each module with clear information on their purpose, implementation approach, staffing needs, reporting, and available resources.

Situation Specific Annexes. The 4 Annexes are designed to supplement the Core Plan with specific guidance on how to respond to particular events. The content in each Annex should be used in tandem with the general information in the Core Plan.